Combined paper-weight, pencil-sharpener, &amp;c.



No. 777.978. PATBNTED DEC. 20, 1904.

' G. A. ROOT.

I COMBINED PAPER WEIGHT, PENCIL SHARPENBR, 6m.

APPLICATION FILED AUG,6,1 903. RENEWED AUG.3,1904.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented December 20, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. ROOT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EMMETT D. PAGE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

COMBINED PAPER-WEIGHT, PENClL-SHARPENER, 80c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 777,978, dated December 20, 1904.

Application filed August 6, 1903. Renewed August 3, 1904.. Serial No. 219,279.

T0 60% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, (humans A. Roor, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Paper-Weight, Pencil-Sharpener, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an article of manufacture adapted for use as a paper-weight, pencil-sharpener, and cigar-cutter, one or all; and its object is to provide a simple, convenient, and efficient article of this class.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully set forth and the novel features thereof pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of the assembled article, showing also a cigar in position to have its end clipped therein. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line X X of Fig.

- 2, showing also a pencil in position for sharpening. Fig. 4 is a detail of the knife-carrying arm and its pivot, partly in top plan and partly in section.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The article comprises in general a weighted base carrying a standard which embodies a holder for the end of a pencil, a holder for the end of a cigar, and a knife-carrying arm pivotally mounted in operative relation to the pencil and cigar holders.

Referring to the drawings, the base 1, which may be of any suitable material and form adapted for use as a paper-Weight, is provided in its upper side with a recess or cavity 2, adapted to act as a receiver into which the material removed from the pencil or the cigar by the knife'may fall. On the upper side of the base, and preferably inset, so as to be flush therewith, is a file strip or section 3 for putting the finishing-point on the pencil, one

. edge of which preferably lies adjacent one side of the cavity 2. At one end of this file-strip there is mounted a semicircular plate 4, the

straight edge of which is flush with the edge of the file-strip and with the side of the cavity in the base, as is shown most clearly in Fig. 3. This plate and the file-strip may be connected to the base in any suitable manner, preferably by means of a screw 5 passing through the base and file-strip from the lower side and threading into the plate L. Uprising from the plate 4. is a web-shaped standard, a part of which embodies a tapering socket 6, adapted to act as a holder for the end of a pencil to be sharpened, one side of said socket being cut away, as at 7, on a plane at an angle to its longitudinal axis in order that parts of the pencil may project therethrough in a position to be removed by a knife-blade 8, which is adjustably mounted, as by an elongated slot-and-screw connection, on an arm 9, provided with a handle 10 and pivoted at one end upon a screw 11, which is tapped into a suitable part of the standard, as at 12. This arm is normally held in its upward position, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a retractile spring, having arms 13 and 13 connected to the knifearm and to a suitable part of the standard, respectively, and preferably coiled up, as at 14, between said arms. Thus the knife-arm, which may be moved in either direction by means of the handle, is normally carried in its upper position by means of its spring, and the limit of its movement in either direction is determined by a pin 15, carried by the arm and adapted to engage suitable stops, as the members l6 17 of the standard. The standard is also provided with a perforated lug 18, adapted to act as a guide for bringing the end of a cigar into the path of movement of the knife 8 and preferably having the inner annular edge thereof sharpened to cooperate with such knife in the cutting action.

In order to steady the pencil and insure its proper position while it is being acted upon by the cutter and also while it is being rotated to bring fresh surfaces thereof to the cuttingpoint, I provide a guide which consists in the embodiment shown of a spring-arm 19, suitably attached at one end to the standard and at the other end bent into substantially circular form, as at 20, and in position such that the loop formed thereby will register with the pencil-holding socket 6. Thus the pencil is held at a point at some distance above the socket in a yielding guide, which allows freedom of movement for the sharpening operation, but tends to resist any quick movement of the pencil while being operated upon by the knife, such as would be likely to put a strain upon the various parts or to break its point, as so often happens in devices intended for a similar purpose.

While the end of the pencil-holding socket may be left open, it is preferably closed, as at 21, thereby providing a stop against which the end of the pencil-point may strike, the position of this stop being properly related to the tapering end of the socket, such that the pencil-point may contact therewith at the proper time.

It is believed that the operation and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the foregoing description without the necessity of further elaboration. It will be seen that I provide a paper-weight with which is provided a convenient cigar-clipper and pencil-sharpener, a single knife being utilized for either function in connection with the adjacent holders for the cigar and pencil, respectively. The mounting of the sharpener upon a weighted base not only provides a solid support therefor, but a convenient receptacle into which the clippings and lead may fall, while the provision of a file-strip on the face of the base allows for the convenient finishing of the sharpening operation or the quick pointing up of the lead after it has been removed from the sharpener proper. The specific advantages of the mounting and means for operating the knife-carrying arm, as well as the advantage of the guide in connection with the socket, which automatically adjusts the position of the knife, should also be clear.

It may be noted in general that the construction described provides a simple, compact, and easily-assembled article the merits of which reside particularly in the various coordinate uses to which it may be put and its efficiency in such uses without departing from the simplicity of construction which is desirable in articles of this class.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a pencil-holder tapering toward its end and cut away on one side to allow a portion of the pencil to project therethrough, said holder being closed at the tapered end to provide a stop for the pencil-point, a knifearm pivoted in operative relation thereto, a spring acting upon said arm tending to carry it normally toward the outer end of the holder, a handle upon said arm by which it may be oscillated, a pin upon said arm adapted to contact with suitable stops to limit its motion in each direction, a knife-blade adjustably tion of the pencil to project therethrough,

said holder being closed at the tapered end to provide a stop for the pencil-point, a knifearm pivoted in operative relation thereto, a spring acting upon said arm tending to carry it normally toward the outer end of the holder, a handle upon said arm by which it may be oscillated, a pin upon said arm adapted to contact with suitable stops to limit its motion in each direction,a knife-blade adj ustably mounted upon said arm, a pencil-guide, adapted to encircle the pencil above the the holder, carried by a spring-arm connected to the standard, and an additional guide upon said standard adapted to act as a guide for the end of a cigar whereby it may be brought into position to be clipped by the knife, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a device of the class described, in combination, a pencil-holder tapering toward its end and cut away on one side to allow a portion of the pencil to project therethrough said holder being closed at the tapered end to provide a stop for the pericil-point, a knifeactuating arm pivoted in operative relation thereto, a spring acting upon said arm tending to carry it normally toward the outer end of the holder, ahandle upon said arm by which it may be oscillated, a pin upon said arm adapted to contact with suitable stops to limit its motion in each direction, a knife-blade actuated by said arm, and a pencil-guide adapted to encircle the pencil above the holder carried by a spring-arm connected to the standard.

4. In a device of the class described, in combination, a pencil-holder tapered toward its end and cut away on one side to allow a portion of the pencil to project therethrough, said holder being closed at the tapered end to provide a stop for the pencil-point, a knifeactuating arm pivoted in operative relation thereto, a spring acting upon said arm tending to carry it normally toward the outer end of the holder, a handle upon said arm by which it may be oscillated, apin upon said arm adapted to contact with suitable stops to limit its motion in each direction, an adjustable knifeblade actuated by said arm and a pencil-guide adapted to encircle the pencil above the holder carried by a spring-arm connected to the standard.

In testimony whereof I after my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. ROOT.

WVitnesses:

H. M. SEAMANs, J. B. KNOX.

IIO 

